DELIVERANCE OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY. At Edinburgh, the 31st day of May 1867. Which day the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland being met, and constituted with devotional exercises: Inter alia The Assembly called for the Report of the Committee on Foreign Missions, which being printed and in the hands of the Members was referred to by Dr. Duff, the Convener, who addressed the Assembly thereanent. Thereafter Dr. Murray Mitchell, a member of the Committee, introduced to the Assembly Mr. Wardrop Gardner, missionary minister at Puna, who addressed the Assembly. It was moved, seconded, and unanimously agreed to,— That the General Assembly approve of the Report of the Committee on Foreign Missions, and record their cordial thanks to the Committee, and especially to the Convener. The Assembly record their hearty thankfulness to God, in that his good hand hath been for good upon the missionaries of the Church, preserving them all in life, and in a fair measure of health, during the year under report. They commend them afresh, with their families, their fellowlabourers, and the converts of the Mission, to the goodness and the grace of their heavenly Father. They gladly welcome amongst them Mr. J. Wardrop Gardner of Puna, who has recently returned to this country in accordance with the Furlough Regulations, and who has this evening addressed the Assembly. While the Assembly regret that the Committee had not been able, up to the time when the Report was printed, to make any appointments of new Missionaries during the year, they rejoice that five Students, at various stages of their Theological studies in the several Colleges of the Church, have been accepted as candidates for mission work, and that since the Report was printed, Mr. George Rae, who is about to be licensed as a Probationer of this Church, has been appointed as a missionary to Madras, and they commend these Students and Mr. Rae to the earnest prayers of the Church, that they may be endowed with needful gifts and graces for the honourable and important office to which they aspire. In view of the greatly increased expense of living in India, and the consequent probability that a permanent augmentation of the allowances of the Missionaries will be imperatively required; in view also very specially of the increasing success of the Missions, by God's blessing, demanding an increased and constantly increasing number of European and Native labourers, the Assembly earnestly urge upon all members of the Church the necessity of enlarging their contributions to the scheme; and also solicit special donations to the Widows' and Orphans' Fund, and to the proposed Building Fund for Mission premises and missionaries' houses in India and Africa, with the view of setting free for its proper use that portion of the ordinary funds which is now of necessity appropriated to these purposes. The Assembly express their great satisfaction at the very varied operations carried on at all the Mission Stations, while the educational operations, which in the earlier period of the Mission were its almost exclusive work, are prosecuted as vigorously and more extensively than ever. While they rejoice that they have 10,000 of the male and female youth of Asia and Africa under thoroughly Christian instruction in their several seminaries, they would especially at this time express their interest in the operations recently commenced amongst the Waralis, the Gonds, and other aboriginal tribes in India, and amongst the inhabitants of the Transkei territory in Africa, and commend the labourers in these fields, as well as those in the older Missions, to the special interest and prayers of the members of the Church. In respect of Dr. Duff's appointment by this Assembly to the Professorial Chair of Evangelistic Theology, and considering the extreme desirableness of retaining his services as Convener of the Committee, while it is manifestly impossible that one man can, without assistance, discharge the duties of both these important offices, the Assembly resolve to reappoint Dr. Duff as Convener of the Committee, and to associate with him Dr. Thomas Smith, whom they resolve to appoint as Vice-Convener. 4th June 1867. The Assembly reappoint the Committee on Foreign Missions, with Dr. Duff as Convener, and Dr. Thomas Smith as Vice-Convener, omitting the names of Dr. Hanna, Mr. James Boyd, Mr. Arch. N. Mackray, Mr. M. M'Intyre, Dr. Parker, Mr. P. W. Robertson, Mr. Andrew Cameron, ministers; Mr. William Thomson, elder; and adding the names of Mr. James C. Macphail, Mr. George Laing, Mr. James Kessen, Mr. Alexander Cusin, Mr. John Simpson, Edin.; Mr. A. C. Kay, Loanhead, Mr. James Lewis, ministers; Dr. Graham, Mr. David Maclagan, Mr. Wm. Henderson, elders. The Assembly called for the proposed deliverance anent the Pastoral Addresses. The deliverance on the Addresses to ministers and others at Mission Stations was proposed by Dr. Duff, and agreed to, and in accordance therewith, The Assembly approve of these Addresses, and authorize the Foreign Missions Committee to send them as speedily as possible to the various Mission Stations in India and Africa, with a view to their being put into the hands of the several parties addressed,—the second one either in English, or translated into the vernacular tongues of the respective Mission churches. The Assembly instruct the Committee to furnish a copy to each member of the Assembly, and also to send, along with the Record for July, a copy to all the Ministers of the Church not members of Assembly, permitting the Committee also, if they see fit, to print and circulate a number of copies. Further, the Assembly recommend that on the 21st July (the day appointed for the collection on behalf of Foreign Missions), Ministers throughout the Church shall offer up special prayer for the Divine blessing to accompany these Addresses, and to descend upon the various parties for whom they are designed. Extracted from the Records of the General Assembly of the Free (Signed) H. WELLWOOD MONCREIFF, Cl. Eccl. Scot. Lib. George C M. Donglas, D.D. Alexander Duff, D D., LL D. Robert Elder, M.A. Thomas Gardiner. James Gibson, D.D. George Laing, M.A. George Lewis. Thomas Main. James Lewis. Principal Lumsden. John Macfarlane, D.D. J. M. Mackintosh, M.A. Dougal Macpherson. N. L. Walker. John W. Wright, M.A. ELDERS. Mr. James Bonar. Mr. A. Scott. Mr. William Stevenson. Rev. ALEXANDER DUFF, D.D., LL.D., Convener. Mr. ROBERT YOUNG, Association Secretary. FORM OF BEQUEST. 1 leave and bequeath the sum of Pounds Sterling (the amount to be stated in words, not figures) to the Committee for the Management of the FOREIGN MISSIONS of the Free Church of Scotland; and I appoint the same to be paid, at the first term of Whitsunday or Martinmas after my death, to JOHN MACDONALD, Fsquire, General Treasurer to the Free Church of Scotland, and his Successors in Office, Treasurers aforesaid; and I declare that the discharge of the said JOHN MACDONALD, Esquire, or of such Treasurer for the time being, shall be a sufficient discharge to my Executors. Free Church of Scotland. REPORT ON THE CONVERSION OF THE JEWS TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. MAY 1867. THE stations under the charge of the Committee are six in number,-Amsterdam, Breslau, Pesth, Constantinople, Ancona, Prague. Besides these, the attention and aid of the Committee have been given to the important work in which Dr. Schwartz has been engaged in England; and also the missionary at Odessa, under the superintendence of the Continental Committee, takes such opportunities as offer themselves in his district for work among the Jews. Before giving their account of these several stations, the Committee would as usual submit the state of the funds with which they have been intrusted during the past year. The whole income of the Mission has been £4159, and the expenditure £3824, leaving a balance in favour of the Committee of £339. The income last year was £4432. The principal items of income are as follows, and as compared with last year : The falling off in the annual collection is to be regretted. Had the Amsterdam Mission been supplied, and the usual expense been incurred in supporting it, the expenditure of the Committee would have exceeded its income. |